Under pricing on flips

Does it ever make you feel like your under pricing a flip bike when someone is willing to drive 2 hours to pick it up? Not that I sell my bikes to get rich it just amazes me what people would drive 2 hours to pick up a bike

Its just a 90s raleigh mountain bike that I had listed on cl with some other bikes. Our nearest cl city is an hour away just never thought someone that far away would want it. Actually thought it was a fake email at first until I talked to the guy on the phone

Most flip bikes I sell are from 25 to 75 each depending on what I have to do to them and what they are,(except for my special bikes) which I do sell for more. so it really shouldnt surprise me how far people will drive for a good priced bike

I had a girl drive two hours each way to get an '80s Huffy girls lightweight. I had both matching his and hers bikes in near mint condition. She is from a college town and said the same type bike was going for 3 times the price back at home. She wanted to buy the men's bike to flip but couldn't fit both bikes in her cavalier.

Very good question! I bought this bike at a flea market for $25. Clean & lube repair hand grip (foam type) looked brand new! I put in C/L for $90. obo. First call says I'll take it. Shows up to my shop and ask why I was selling it so cheap? I said that I was really into older bikes as he could plainly see in my litte shop.full of old bikes He was working and in his company car, I won't say the name but it had a BIG tail on the back of it! :lol: We removed the front wheel stuffed in the back and off he went. He asking me more than once if I was sure about the price! ? I worked at a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealer for twelve years as Sevice Manager. The dealer always told me "There's a butt for every seat you just have to find the right butt" That must be the answer!

WOW OK the guy showed up and rode the bike around the block then came back saying the rear shifter worked when he started off then wouldnt shift no more, so I told him id look at it for him if it couldnt be fixed Id replace the shifter for him. Then he asked if he could try the other 26 inch mtn bike I had in the ad so I pulled it out and let him ride it while I checked the shifter out. well the tiny ratcheting spring was broke so I started replacing the shifter and when he got back he said the second bike needed slightly adjusted which I told him I could do for him if he wanted it instead. And he looks at me while Im finishing the shifter and he says "actually I was looking for TREK". Ummm ok then why did you drive 2 hours to look at a 18 year old Raleigh then. 5 mins after he left Both bikes was shifting perfect

WOW OK the guy showed up and rode the bike around the block then came back saying the rear shifter worked when he started off then wouldnt shift no more, so I told him id look at it and change the shifter for him if it couldnt be fixed Id replace the shifter for him. Then he asked if he could try the other 26 inch mtn bike I had in the ad so I pulled it out and let him ride it while I checked the shifter out. well the tiny ratcheting spring was broke so I started replacing the shifter and when he got back he said the second bike needed slightly adjusted which I told him I could do for him if he wanted it instead. And he looks at me while Im finishing the shifter and he says "actually I was looking for TREK". Ummm ok then why did you drive 2 hours to look at a 18 year old Raleigh then. 5 mins after he left Both bikes was shifting perfect

I'm thinking, if you flip a bike and you made money, then you did "good enough".

TBH, I don't see the appeal of flipping bikes. If you're good at it, you're just helping to inflate the prices of used bikes and bike parts. If you're not good at it, you're wasting time, money, and effort. I like to fix old bikes, so I do tend to help out friends/ co-workers who buy something stupid and cheap on CL; they cover the cost of parts, and I put it together for or with them. I'm not making money that way, but for me, it's a hobby. I have sold some parts on here, but i generally break even, take a slight loss, or come close (tough to measure if you got some use out of the part between when ya bought it and when ya sold it.)

The way I see it, the few bucks you make by swindling some guy who doesn't yet no how to tune-up an old bike isn't worth it when you consider the number of tire-kickers, nigerian money-laundering scheme-sters, psychopaths, and crooks you're liable to run into with a CL ad. A buddy of mine was selling his road bike on CL for a decent price; eventually got what he was asking, but not before he wasted hours of his weekend waiting for no-show "customers" or weird low-ballers. Worst was a guy who took it for a testride around the block, came back and said "I can only give you like $50; it needs new wheels." My buddy says he spun the wheel and it was waaaaay out of true; inspection of the nipples showed that the "customer" had loosened all the driveside spokes to make it look like the wheels were busted, so he could shoot a low-ball offer. Needless to say, my buddy told the guy to take off while he still had the legs to carry him. Long story short, I gotta ask: is this kind of thing actually worth it, for maybe $50 to $100 "profit" off of a few hours' labor?

Dude, how do you think I am paying for my vacation to Southeast Asia?
How do you think I paid for the cool vintage frames and bikes that I have.
If you know what you are doing, there is good money to be had while having fun at the same time.
And I do it without swindling anyone.
It's called a free market economy and it's as American as those old bikes you enjoy!

Well maybe its like this: Who's to say that fixing and selling bikes is for everybody. Like any thing else! Good apple Bad apples, I have people return and call all the time looking for bikes for other people after I have found one for them. Theres no swindle! just plain fun. I have never had one person call back with a problem if they did I would fix or what ever it would take! I only sell nice bikes that are affordable. Rule of thumb: NEVER SELL SOMETHING YOU CANT AFFORD TO BUY BACK!! :!:

I'm thinking, if you flip a bike and you made money, then you did "good enough".

TBH, I don't see the appeal of flipping bikes. If you're good at it, you're just helping to inflate the prices of used bikes and bike parts. If you're not good at it, you're wasting time, money, and effort. I like to fix old bikes, so I do tend to help out friends/ co-workers who buy something stupid and cheap on CL; they cover the cost of parts, and I put it together for or with them. I'm not making money that way, but for me, it's a hobby. I have sold some parts on here, but i generally break even, take a slight loss, or come close (tough to measure if you got some use out of the part between when ya bought it and when ya sold it.)

The way I see it, the few bucks you make by swindling some guy who doesn't yet no how to tune-up an old bike isn't worth it when you consider the number of tire-kickers, nigerian money-laundering scheme-sters, psychopaths, and crooks you're liable to run into with a CL ad. A buddy of mine was selling his road bike on CL for a decent price; eventually got what he was asking, but not before he wasted hours of his weekend waiting for no-show "customers" or weird low-ballers. Worst was a guy who took it for a testride around the block, came back and said "I can only give you like $50; it needs new wheels." My buddy says he spun the wheel and it was waaaaay out of true; inspection of the nipples showed that the "customer" had loosened all the driveside spokes to make it look like the wheels were busted, so he could shoot a low-ball offer. Needless to say, my buddy told the guy to take off while he still had the legs to carry him. Long story short, I gotta ask: is this kind of thing actually worth it, for maybe $50 to $100 "profit" off of a few hours' labor?

I don't think it is, but that's just my opinion.
-rob

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Heres my thing I dont make $50 to $100 off each bike, If I did my wife would be pushing me out into the garage all day every day. Im lucky if I can make 10 to 15 bucks after everything else. I mainly try selling local and have sold a ton of stuff on CL over the years. and when I set up a time for someone to come by its when im already in the shop so the only time I waste is when the persons actually there looking at the bikes. As for swindling someone by selling them a used bike Its no different then buying and selling other products. And I wont sell a bike that I wont ride myself and yes I will strip a bike for parts if the paints faded. I would say out of every 30 bikes I get in I will have 10 thats worth selling or passing on

I normally score bikes from the scrapyard, yard sales, Goodwill, other second hand stores, junkers, scrapers, or find them thrown away. I also buy bikes that friend's find or that someone has hoarded in their garage for the last 30 years. I normally try to let people set the price then if there's money to be made I buy it, If not I try to negotiate to get the price down. I rarely ever pay more than $30 for a bike and most times if I spend $30 I can make $100.

I've had a few really hot deals this year that make it easier to snatch up more bikes. I also do bike trading and most times get cool stuff in on trade that needs work with cash.....Most times the cash breaks me even for what I paid and whatever I make on the trade in is profit. I have sold bikes that I have paid $5 for and gotten $100 out of them all the time. I normally focus on mostly vintage Schwinns and other vintage and newer beach cruisers, tandems, and other oddities. Also anything popular like low riders, OCC choppers, WCC choppers, recumbent bikes, and vintage BMX bikes. I have scored some good ones for $20 and sold for as much as $300! It's like any other job though, some days it's a grind of working on 100 WalMart bikes that you might make $10 each off of, other days you strike gold and get a truckload of goodies for next to nothing that could net you thousands. For me the joy is in the hunt and seeing the before and after transformations of $5 cruddy bikes into $100 polished classics.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I don't mess with Walmart stuff to flip,its not worth the hassle to me,mostly I can get the stuff fo r free and maybe make $20 if I am lucky, how much time and money do I need to put into it to make that $20 ? I live in a town of 2100 pop and most the time I do a CL ad people drive from the bay area2.5 to 3 hours each way...sold 25 bikes one day and the guy stuffed them into a plumbing van,I didn't want to sell them all that day but $500 cash looked good for nothing much invested.

Flipping is fun times, where 80% of the people who call never show up, 1/2 of the people who call low ball you to the point you make about $10 per bike. I have a few high dollar bikes that retailed for around 2k, I was wondering what I could even get out of them?
Sure I have payed $30 for a vintage road bike, put 10 hours into the rebuild plus over another $100 and sold it for $300. Its a hobby that got away from me, I should finish my Camaro and Chevelle and have fun with them instead of collecting and restoring beaten down old bikes.

If it doesn't sell you're asking too much. If it does sell you asked too little.

What gets me though is all the people who're asking too much and relist their items ad nauseum on CL or ebay. It's like they don't understand the basics of supply and demand. :mrgreen:

The real problem with this though is that people see a Huffy for $300 and then think their Huffy is worth $300 too, and soon you have tons of people listing $300 huffys that won't sell - inspiring even more people to list $300 huffys that won't sell. And do you think a single one would wise up and go "wow there's apparently no demand for a $300 huffy!" and lower their price? Nope. They just keep clogging up CL with ludicrously priced huffys. :lol:

In my opinion if it doesn't sell the first time you list it, you've asked too much.